Translation of MRI results, english please.

[Jay1584]

HISTORY: 31-year-old patient reporting left facial paralysis, tremors, headaches, left blurred vision,
history of Bell’s palsy.
TECHNIQUE: Axial T1, axial T2, axial FLAIR, axial T1 post-gadolinium, fat-suppressed coronal T1
post-gadolinium, fat-suppressed coronal T2, sagittal T1, diffusion weighted imaging with
correlative apparent diffusion coefficient sequences of the brain. Thin slice coronal T1,
axial T1, axial 3D FIESTA, coronal T1 post-contrast, fat-suppressed axial T1 postcontrast
sequences through the mid brain were performed. 20 ml of Multihance
administered.
FINDINGS: Multiple round and ovoid T2/FLAIR hyperintense lesions are revealed within the
bilateral frontal, parietal, and occipital periventricular white matter. The largest is a 5.5 x
3.5 mm ovoid lesion in the left parietal periventricular white matter. These findings
exhibit no enhancement or restricted diffusion. No facial nerve enhancement is revealed.
No lesions are revealed in the brainstem.
There is no evidence of a space occupying mass. There is no abnormal enhancement. No
hemorrhage or extraaxial fluid collections. The sulci are normal for age. The ventricles
are unremarkable. The sellar and parasellar structures are unremarkable. Cerebellar tonsil
morphology and position are normal. The intracranial flow voids are unremarkable.
The imaged orbits are unremarkable. The paranasal sinuses and mastoid air cells are
clear. No skeletal lesions are revealed.

I have been getting tested for MS, for 18 months...what does this sound like?

[suspiciouscombo]

Immisceo's words above are of paramount importance. Applicable on all fronts and squarely on point.

[aspen2]

I have a similar MRI to yours; I remain in limbo.  Despite right areas, etc. my neurologist still says the lesions are too small.  My largest was 7.6 mm x5.?  Five relapses, three severe.  

So it will be interesting to see what your neuro says.  Even with all the right areas, if you're neuro is looking for textbook, there might still be a wait.  Keep us posted!

[ree221]

I've been in limbo for 4 agonizing years.
I have so many MS symptoms
I have diagnosed disorders that are caused by MS
I have had episodes/relapses
Abnormal brain MRI -too many lesions to count (consistent with MS)
Abnormal VNG
Abnormal VEP
Multiple eye issues and suspicion of past Optic Neuritis (pale optic nerve)
Abnormal Neuropsych results consistent with MS (per the report)

I could go on for enough pages to write a book.
Still no diagnosis after 4 years.
Why?
My MRI's have not changed since baseline. But my neuro is flaking out and not acknowleding my symptoms or past episodes. At one point he even said it just all anxiety!!!!!!!!!

To say I'm frustrated is putting it mildly.

Good luck to you. I say that it does ring true of MS but they really have to do more testing and take a full history/neuro exam, etc. Hope you find answers soon and don't have to wait as long as I've been.

Ree

[HVAC]

The periventricals lead me towards MS but again I am no doctor. My first MRI showed periventricals and I was not diagnosed for two years. Hopefully you are nearer to a diagnosis. Neurologists like to watch over time. MS is a complicated disease to diagnose. Many illnesses take years to diagnose. The new machinery like MRIs instead of making easier make it harder because they make more questions than answers. But on the other hand more people are diagnosed. I had my first neurological hospitalization in 1965 when I was a toddler. They immediately sent me to the Mayo Clinic. I saw Neurologists until I was 15. This was before MRIs. I forgot all about it until 2007 when my doctor sent me to a neurologist. They said it had to be MS. In 2009 I was diagnosed.

Alex

[Artanis12]

Jay, I'm in OKC too.  I'm going to message you.

Karen

[immisceo]

I'm glad you don't have to wait long to see him/her. So many people in this forum can relate to the long, drawn-out diagnostic time-lines. And I've heard many people say something similar to yourself - it's not the prospect of MS, it's the prospect of still not knowing. I hope your have more firm information available to you on Monday. Just know that even if it's still left open-ended, this forum is a place that welcomes people in diagnostic limbo too.

[Jay1584]

Haha, I'm ready for a party! I will probably talk to my neurologist about this on Monday.  Just 18 month of testing without a diagnosis, it's starting to drive me nuts. I have had everything from 6 MRIs to spinal taps. I'm not scared of an MS diagnosis...I'm afraid of not getting one!

[immisceo]

Will you be discussing this with your neurologist soon? As an MS patient, two words stick out to me out of all of that: "ovoid" and "peri-ventricular". This lesion shape and location is characteristic of what many of us see in our own MRIs. Of course, I won't pretend to be able to tell you if this is what your neurologist will say, just that it stuck out to me.

Okay, I have to admit 3D FIESTA stuck out to me too. Nothing says party-time like an MRI!